Spudding-machine.



'22 .Si se C. W. FORKEH.

SPUDDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 13.1911.

\ l ,284,636. Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

C. W. FOHKER.

SPUDDING MAHlNE. APPUCATION FILED Nov. 13. 19:7.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2- gywwroz CharlesWForker Sgn! W @Romney C. W. FQRKER.

SPUDDING MACHINE.

APPucATloN FILED Nov. 13, |91(l ifmemed NOV. 12, i918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

CHARLES W. FORKER, OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA.

SPUDDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

Application led November 13, 1917. Serial No. 201,749.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. FORKER, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Fomona, Los Angeles county, State of California, haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in Spudding-Machines; andmy preferred manner of carrying out the invention is set forth in the.following full, clear, and exact description, terminating with claimsparticularly specifying the novelty.

This invention relates to the class of plows other earth-treatingmachines, and more especially it is a spudding machine adapted toproduce holes in the earth extending through the top soil into thesubsoil so as to permit water and moisture at the surface to get intothe subsoil.

The invention consists in the details of construction of such a machinedescribed below and shown which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinalsection through this machine complete, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereofwith the housing and seat broken away, Fig. 3 is a perspective detail ofthe adjuster plate, Fig. 4 a transverse section of a double machine,Fig. 5 a perspective detail of a simple form of spud, F ig. 6 a diagramto be referred to hereinafter, Figs. 7 and 8 enlarged sectional detailsshowing the action of the spud under the plate when the parts are inworking position and Fig. 9 a similar view when in idle position, andFigs. 10 and 11 are details of the backing ratchet mechanism. Fig. 12 isa plan view and Fig. 13 a side elevation of another form of the machine;and Fig. 14 is a plan view and Fig. 15 a vertical section of yet anotherform.

This machine is purposely made heavy, being mostly of metal. It isintended for use on land which is cultivated or not and perhapssemi-arid, but its greatest efficiency is found on land which at thesurface is composed of much clay to hold the water away from the subsoiland roots, especially alfalfa roots and the like. Such surface soilbecomes frozen in winter and caked in summer, and at all times pitted bythe hoofs of stock if allowed to roam thereon, and the crust or thepits' prevent the meltedsnow or the rain from sinking linto the subsoilas it should. I have accordingly devised a machine for perforating orspudding the ground with comparatively deep holes, as

in the drawings, in`

near together perhaps as one for every square foot, in its passagethereover; and

the machine needs to be heavy in order that the so-called spuds willpenetrate the crust properly and swing or move while embedded therein sothat the holes produced are not only deep but also oblong in thedirection in which the progress of the ma chine moves the spuds. Mypreferred construction of this machine will now be described.

Two wide-tread Vwheels vl and 2 of ample size are mounted on an axle 3,each driving it by means of a pawl and ratchet mechanism described belowwhile yet permitting the machine to turn corners. The axle supports aframe 4 having a-tongue 5 to which is attached the draft, whether animalor tractor, an arched housing 6 rises from the fra-me and covers themechanism yet to be described, and a standard 7 also rises therefrom andcarries the drivers seat 8. Thus far, except for the wheel mountings,'the con struction is much like Vthat ordinarily adopted foragricultural machines which are to be drawn over the ground, and details are not essential.

Between bearings 9 which support the frame from the axle the latter iscranked, and by preference I make the cranks in the form of severalheavy round plates l0 standing side by side and connected each to eachby crank pins arranged irregularly or in spiral order throughout theseries so that the crank-pins shall not all be in line. On each crankpin is journaled an eye 1l at the upper end of a spud 12, the'samehaving a long body tapering downward to a sharp point 13 and bypreference flattened somewhat on i t s opposite sides as seen in Fig. 5.The machine shown in Fig. 2 is equipped with but four of these cranksand spuds, but there may be more if desired; and in Fig. 4 I have showna double machine whose axle has two groups of cranks operating twoseries or sets of spuds, spaced so that the machine may be driven alongla row of small growing plants to work up the ground on both sidesthereof without puncturing the earth at all directly at the roots of theplants. The machine could, in fact, be built on a much larger scale thansuggested in this view, the spuds might be smaller and closer together,and each might have its tip bifurcated (see 13 in Fig. 7 or otherwisethe earth. But l iind that a single, stra-ight. tapering point, somewhatflattened at its sides as suggested, gives very goed results.

Hanging from the trame and preteinhhv curved downward ybetween its frontand rear bars are slats l5 between which the spuds depend and by whichthey are held laterally spaced. Disposed just above these slats andparallel with the axle is a slightly curved adjuster plate l. This plateis supported by upright hangers 18 and i9 having efr-,fes 2()surrounding and journaled on the axle, aboutwhich the plate may turn asa center, and above its eye one hanger is continued into a lever 2lharing,- a handle 22 standing Within reach of the driver on the seat,thumb latch of suitable form carried by the lever adjacent its handleand enzgages a toothed raclr 2l arching upward from the frame.A Bytripping this latch and throwingl the lever, it is obvious that thedriver 'may adjust the plato around the axle. W' hen the lever is thrownbackward to its full extent, the plate will he in suhstantially theposition shown in Figs. l, 7, and 8 which is the workingposition inwhich the machine is actually spudding. As the upper end of each spud iscarried over and forward by its crank-pin, it comes into contact withthe edg.` l? ot the plate as seen in Fig. 7, and continued movementcauses it to assume the position shown in Fig. 8 'where its pointedlower end has heen thrown tor- Ward at an angle ready to enter the earthin its yet further movement. lleanwhile the Spud is held against lateralmovement hy the slats l5 already described When t' e lever is thrownforward to itsy full extent. the plate 16 assumes substantially theposition shown in Fig. E). In this position the points 13 will at alltimes he held cle the ground hy the rear edge of the This is the idleposition or the machine. wherein the motion ot the crai lepins willcause the spuds to merely reciprocate over said edge idly at the rear.and this is the position to which the plate l5 should he set whendriving from and to the Afield which is to he treated.

In order to set the machine at work, the plate 16 isset forward at theproper point by the lever mechanism. and the horses started. Rotationora the axle and its various cranks now causes thi spnds to have themovement diagrammatically shown in 'Fig'. 6.- That is to sagt, the pointfirst enters the ground as seen at ./f and while the point ot the Spudis inclined somewhat forward, then the movement ot the crank sinks thepoint farther as at Z) and swings the spud to a vertical, next the crankswings it farther at c so' that a hole is made which is elongated in thedirection ot movement of the machine as soon in dotted lines` and nallythe cranlr draws the Spud out ot the ground as at .7 aint carries iiapr. forward as at c another i et of tour spuds a ci path will hetreated, but the size chine is a matter of preference. eventthe machinewill perliorat" or spurl the soil hv piercing the saine with amultiplicity of holes ifhose size, depth.` nluuher, and proximity willdepend on the form and nari location oi the spuds en'ipiojred. Each,'iole will he elongated at the mouth ior the reason explained and willafford ree ly entrance for surface water or melted snow, eitiier oiwhich finds its way through the su? crust to the suhsoil where iA isneeded. The machine may he used on a falta lands and on ground wheresmall plants are nur, as the spuds do not destroy the nl nts or injuretheir roots when triifen astrid-e the rows as suggested. vrho purposeoli ii "imr the machine heavy i wheels shall drive so as to the ellectof their combined traction Jor actuating the spudding mechanism. dSnefor ac complishing this idea is illusti ated in Figs. l0 and ll. Hereinratchet wheels QG are fast on the axle inside the drive wheels, and nexteach ratchet is mounted a disk carrying av pawl 28 borne normally intoengagement with the teeth of the ratchet hy a spring 29. T his disk isloose on the axle and may itself be fast to the drive wheel, or, asshown, separate therefrom and detachahl),v connected therewith as hy akey or holt 30 passed through the disl'- and a flange 3l at the innerend of the drive wheel huh. The huh is in turn loose on the e, but theinsertion of this hey vlocks to the disk. 1When driving the machine idlyover thev road, as when the spuds are not working', the keys will betemporarily removed or the pawls disengaged from their springs andturnedbackward; hut with all parts connected up, a. hacking ratchetisprovided to permit the machine to turn corners at the ends of the rowsas will he clearly understood.

0n Sheet 3 of the drawings l have shown certain modilications andVamplitications to Vwhich the idea is susceptible. Hereinbelore I havespoken of the machine as heavy, as indeed it should be for work oncrusted soil; out it is possihle Ain any llo `closer together, shouldpenetrate the earth to various distances according to the requirements,and should operate more rapidly.l

To accomplish the latter, the cranked axle is replaced by a crankedshaft driven by but at greater speed than the aXle by any appropriatemeans, twoY of which I have shown. To reduce weight, especially wherethe parts are more numerous, they may be made light, and this ispossible because so' much strength is now not always required. The viewson Sheet 3 are to an extent fragmentary, but I may describe them as fol'lows:

In Figs. 12 and 13 the frame 4 is supported on an axle 3 whose Wheels 32are internally toothed, and one of them may have the ratchet mechanismabove described and herein designated broadly by the numeral 260. Theinternal gears mesh with gear pinions 33 on a crank shaft 34 journaledin the frame forward of the aXle and herein shown as having severalsomewhat smaller cranks 35, and on the latter are mounted the spuds 12,of which only three are shown in Fig. 13. Obviously, however, therecould be more and smaller spuds than in the machine lirst abovedescribed, the path of movement of their upper ends is smaller, they setlower, and they act more rapidly. Other features are as described above,adapted to this construction. The frame 4 may need a cross bar 4 tosupport the rear end of the housing 6 and the rear ends of the slats 15.The eyes 2O will of course be mounted in this instance on the shaft 34.l

In Figs. 14 and 15 one main wheel 41 is loose on the axle and the other,42, is keyed at 44 thereon, and the backing ratchet mechanism isrendered unnecessary. I might here say that it is not necessary in anyconstruction where the crank shaft is driven from only one of the mainwheels. Keyed at 48 on the aXle is a large sprocket wheel 45 belted at.46 to a small wheel 47 which is fast on a crank shaft 48, and the latteris shown as having a yet larger number of yet smaller cranks 49. Thesedrive spuds are indicated at 12 in Fig. 15, and if the sprockets haverespectively 24 and 6 teeth, the shaft rotates four times as fast as theaxle. This type of my invention is preferably employed for perforatingthe soil with a large number of quite small holes, rather closetogether.

By withdrawing a screw 11 in Fig. 5, a block 11 at the top of the spudcan be removed and the eye 11 becomes a notch, thus releasing the Spudwhich may be withdrawn from its crank so that it can be replaced by "onewhich is of different size or shape.

This possibility is present in any type of my machine; and when anymachine is to spud deeper, longer spuds can be substituted, or thereverse. But in Figs. 14 and 15 I have shown means for adjusting thedepth to which the tips of the spuds shall enter the ground, withoutchanging the spuds themselves. This is accomplished-whew over thecranked axle is used-by tilting the frame 4. The means illustratedconsists in pivoting the tongue 50 at 51 to eyes 52 in the front of theframe, and turning it down from its pivot and bifurcating its lower endas at 53, and then a screw or bolt 54 taking through the bifurcationinto the frame may be adjusted to vary the inclination of the tongue.The forward end of the latter being maintained at a constant height,such variation obviously tilts the frame and raises or lowers thebearings carrying the crank shaft, and therefore the spuds. Obviouslythis Y detail might be employed in the construction shown in Figs. 12and 13.

My invention is susceptible of other elaborations and refinements notnecessary to illustrate, and I reserve the broadest latitude in thatrespect consistent with the claims below.

What is claimed as new is: 1. A spudding machine comprising a framemounted on wheels, longitudinal spaced slats carried by the frame, ashaft journaled in the frame and driven by the.

wheels, cranks in the shaft, spuds whose heads are mounted on the shaftand whose bodiesv depend between said slats, a plate against which theheads of the spuds strike to throw their lower ends forward, and meansfor adjusting the position of said plate.

2. The combination with a frame, driving and supporting wheels, a shaftjournaled in the frame and driven by the wheels, cranks inthe shaft, anda series of spuds loosely mounted on said cranks; of an adjuster plate,standards projecting therefrom and mounted on said shaft, a handlerising from one standard, and means for setting the handle and plate topermit the heads of the spuds to strike such plate earlier or later, forthe purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a wheeled frame having bearings on its sidebars, a shaft j ournaled therein and having cranks within the frame,means for driving the shaft from the wheels, and an arched housing andseat on the frame; of a series of spuds within the frame having theirupper ends loosely mounted on said cranks, longitudinal guides betweenwhich their bodies depend, a transverse plate over whose edge said spudsslide under the motion of the cranks, and means for setting the plateforward in position to he struck by the upper ends of the spuds forthrowingtheir lower ende forward, or seting it backward to serve as aguide for holding the tips of the spnds out of the ground.

el. The combination with a frame, an axle therein having Wheels, a crankshaft journaled in the frame, and connections for driv inghe shaft fromthe Wheels and in the Sander direction; of ay series of spuds whereofeaeh has a head loosely mounted on one of the cranks, a relatively fixedele-ment igea-,ese

against which the headystrikes to throw the lower end of the Spudforward just before it entere the ground, and means for guiding the bodyof the Spud as the shaft rotates.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto Subscribed my signature this the6th day of November, A. D. 1917.

CHARLES W. FORKER.

Vitnesses:

JESSE P. EDMoNDs,. H. M'. LATHN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. G.

